The Jellicle Takeover
by Silikat
Summary: What if you woke up one morning to find that the world you live in has turned upside down? What if your home had been invaded by monsters from a science lab? I must warn you, my friend. The monsters are coming, and they call themselves the Jellicles. AU
1. Starting Something

**A Dedication-**This fanfic is dedicated to **musicgal3**, for being supportive all the way through the time I have been on , and for reading eveything. THANK YOU! It means so much to me, it really does.

**Disclaimer-** CATS belongs to TSE, ALW and RUG, the great trio of acronyms, not me. All cookies promised by my are invisible and therefore inedible. Alexander (see the actual fic) doesn't exist.

* * *

Chapter One – Starting Something

It's all over.

They've got out. We've been trying to keep them in for years, nearly eighty of them if my memory of the files was correct, but they finally did what we never expected. They broke out of the lab.

You, sitting there, reading this, you're probably confused. More than likely you've picked this up from the ruins of this building. You don't even know what happened.

And why would you? Only we know the truth. We know everything.

Well, sit back and let me enlighten you. The facts behind the monsters. Heaven knows, the world needs to be told.

My name is Eric Miller. This is the story of the Jellicle Takeover.

In the 1920s, a man and great poet called Thomas Eliot lived in England. And, around that time, he started to have strange dreams. Recurring nightmares about a creature that was half cat and half human. He didn't tell anyone about this at the time, for fear of being considered insane. But he still had the dreams. Once a night, every night. Sometimes, he would hear a snatch of a song or a line or two of poetry, but nothing more.

Eliot had a friend, a very close friend in fact, who was a scientist, and one day this man turned up at his door looking excited. When Eliot quizzed him, Alexander (for that was his name) just said that he had something to show him, something that was odd and related to his work. Why did he show Eliot and not another scientist? I don't know. But bear in mind that Eliot and Alexander were very close, so maybe he just wanted someone to see it before he showed it to any official.

So Eliot invited him in and helped him to set his equipment up in the centre of his living room. What Alexander wanted to show him was an experiment with Radon, which is where we get radioactivity. To this day, we don't know what the original experiment was, for at that moment one of Eliot's cats, known as Tantomile, walked into the room and knocked over part of the equipment.

A green glow surrounded the cat, and before the astonished humans eyes she began to grow. Her fur crackled blue and green, and she looked down at herself, surprised. Her front paws lifted off the ground, as she stood solely on her back legs. Her face, still covered in fur, looked more human. She was tall, taller than both humans, about seven feet high. She no longer had paws, but fur-covered hands and feet that ended in claws. The thing was a half human, half cat mix.

But it didn't stop there. As Eliot and Alexander watched, the rest of the cats that lived with Eliot entered the room, and Tantomile turned her attention to them. A blue bolt shot from her paws, and the other cats began to mutate as well, until a group of seven mutants was standing in Eliot's living room.

Eliot knew that this was what he had been dreaming about for weeks. He knew that what was standing in front of him, meowing and hissing, was an entirely new species, and something that had never been seen before. The only problem was what to do with them.

Well, Alexander took care of that. He was on the telephone in a flash, and the half cats were on their way to a laboratory within three hours, for testing.

It turned out that Tantomile contained something not many cats possessed. A different gene, causing the magic in the cats, christened 'Jellicles' on Eliot's request. These Jellicles were left in the care of a research team, who thought that once the first Jellicles died, the problem would be eliminated. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Several litters of half-human kittens later, the scientists gave up any attempt at researching the Jellicles, and set about containing them. They thought that if the Jellicles believed that they were the ones in control of their home, an abandoned junkyard, then they would be happy.

In the meantime, Eliot had been inspired. By the 1930s, he had published, _Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats_, a collection of poems about the Jellicles that he had seen created. He didn't use any existing Jellicles apart from Jellylorum, however.

Alexander thought that the book would give away the secret of the Jellicles, for nobody that wasn't working on the project knew about them, but if anything it convinced the public that Jellicles were not real, and the rumours they had heard were just publicity. So the Jellicles remained a secret, hidden away and oblivious in their Junkyard.

Not even the musical adaption of _Old Possum_in the 1980s exposed them. In fact, hundreds of people knew about the Jellicles, and are even fans of them, but as a story, as something untrue.

That is, until today. Today, they seemed to know we were watching them. Today, they broke free.

I don't know how. And I don't know why. But I do know this – those cats are dangerous. So the human race had better beware, or it may be our necks on the line.

Yours,  
Eric Miller, Scientist on the Jellicle Project.

* * *

Earlier that day, Jellylorum and Tantomile sat together in a small shed. The pair were firm friends, and had been for a long time. Since 1920, in fact. They were the original Jellylorum and Tantomile, T. S. Eliot's cats who were the first ever Jellicles.  
Endless years of death and rebirth had left them in the here and now, together in a corner of the Junkyard.  
"Look at them!"  
Jellylorum looked up from her knitting, and turned to face Tantomile, who was glaring out of the window as if she wanted to kill everyone outside it.  
"Look at what, Tanto?" she sighed, putting down the needles. Outside, the rest of the Jellicle tribe were relaxing in the September sun. The kittens were playing and running around by the tire, and the adults were lazily watching them, occasionally stepping in if one got too over excited. All in all, a normal day.  
"Them!" Tantomile turned from the window, disgusted. "They think they're so clever. They think we're actually outsmarting the humans!"  
"Well, what's the point in telling them otherwise?" Jelly asked, with the air of someone who has had this particular argument before. And she had – a thousand times over the years.  
"Because they're prisoners, Jells. We all are."  
"Well, I know that and you know that, but we don't need to rain on their little parade."  
"Why though, Jelly? What could you possibly need to hide?"  
"You know that as well as I do, Tantomile. They will be more than a little freaked out if they discover that we're older than Deuteronomy."

She couldn't deny that one, no matter how much she thought. All of the others thought Deuteronomy was so old. They didn't know he had only lived through two lives! Not like them. Angry, she yelled the first thing that came into her head.  
"Jelly, _fate _wants us to tell them. Remember Eliot's book? And the musical coming to life at the last Ball? It's like this was all planned, Jells. I can feel it. We need to tell them _now_." She blinked, not quite sure where that had come from. Despite being a mystic, Tantomile didn't believe in fate, and she'd never even thought about the book or musical before.  
Jelly looked at her long and hard, as if she was considering the matter very hard. Finally, she shook her head.  
"No, Tanto. They're not ready. They wouldn't believe us if we told them, you know that. And what's easier to believe, that this," she gestured down at herself "Is a normal cat and everything's fine, or that we're mutant freaks being secretly experimented on by the humans?"  
"True." Tantomile scowled. She wished Jellylorum didn't have such a good point. It was true; none of the Jellicles would believe their story.

Tantomile wished she could remember more about being a normal cat. Her memory was fuzzy before she had become a Jellicle, which was probably something to do with the intelligence that had come with her human side.

Most of her Jellicle experiences up until the end of her third life were in white rooms, with scientists in lab coats staring at her. It was alright for Jelly, they'd not done anything to her after her first rebirth, but if they found out a cat was magical then that cat would vanish into the labs, for testing, for experiments, and never to be seen again by the rest of the cats. Tantomile had been a mystic for all of her lives.

White walls, white floors, white lab coats, white masks, needles poking and prodding at her, being linked up to different machines which made strange noises, tests, pain, being forced to swallow drugs and various different coloured liquids...that was her first two and a half lives in a nutshell. They did the same things to her, again and again, just because they didn't realise she was the same cat being reborn.

Tantomile wasn't quite sure how the whole Heaviside thing worked, but she was sure something was wrong with the way it had happened for her and Jelly. The two friends had been resurrected a year after their deaths each time, while their old friends from when they were normal stayed with the Everlasting Cat. Well, mostly – Pattipaws turned up in her fifth life, but she was lost, confused, scared. Tantomile thought she remembered being normal, and it made her more than a little bit mad. She hadn't seen any of the others since her first life. Of course, they may have come back and not remembered the past, which seemed likely. Again, Tantomile and Jellylorum could remember every detail of their other lives, something that made Tantomile curious. She wanted an answer. And the question was 'Why us?'

No cat apart from them could remember having a past life, apart from Old Deuteronomy. And he was too young to know where they came from.

It was just her and Jelly now. The only two Jellicles who knew the truth, the whole truth.

And it was driving her insane.

* * *

Coricopat sat by the tire, wondering where his sister had gone. She had been doing this a lot over the past few weeks, disappearing at random times to Heaviside-knows-where, and returning alone, looking more and more troubled each time.  
He looked over to his left, spotting her sneaking in as always, but instead of heading over to him she walked towards the other side of the Junkyard. She looked angry, which was always a bad sign, but he ignored it.  
_What's up? _He asked psychically, frowning at her. He heard her sigh.  
_Nothing, Cori. Like yesterday, like the day before that. Nothing. Now do me a favour and leave me alone!  
_He rolled his eyes. Every day he asked the same question, and received the same answer. Well, today he wasn't going to stand for it.  
_No, Tanto. Something _is _wrong; you're just too stubborn to admit it. You've always told me everything, ever since we were kits, so go on. Spill.  
_Tanto stopped in her tracks, looking as if she were considering it. He urged her on in his head, willing her to just own up and tell him what was wrong.

At last, a devilish grin spread across her face, and a note of defiance crept into her thoughts.  
_Okay, Cori. I'll tell you _exactly _what's going on. But before I do, I'll need to see Munkustrap. To, er, tell him as well. And maybe Old Deuteronomy? Scratch that, I need to tell everyone. It's important._

Ten minutes later, Coricopat had gathered the cats she had asked for in an old, disused den. All of them were baffled, but they sat up and listened as Tantomile prepared to unleash her great secret on them.

"I have something to tell you all." she began. "A secret that I have kept ever since my first life, years and years ago. We-"  
"Tantomile, what in Heaviside are you playing at?!?" Jelly's livid tones came from the shed. She stormed into view, eyes blazing with anger and possibly a little fear.  
"What did I tell you? Not to mention anything. And what do you do?"  
"We _had _to tell them at some point, Jelly. It's eating me alive, and I know it's eating you too." Tantomile replied, to the confusion of the other Jellicles. Tanto and Jelly hadn't seemed to even know each other before; they were hiding their tracks so well. No Jellicle had ever seen them acting this close.  
"In any case," she added, picking up on the emotions of the group. "This lot are confused enough already."

Jellylorum closed her eyes, wondering what they should do. Automatically, Tanto reached out to her psychically, reading her mind and sensing her emotions.  
_It's no good. _Jelly was thinking. _They'll never believe us, Tanto's wasting her time.  
But what if they do believe us? What if she does tell them?  
No, it'll never work, that's just stupid, why should we even try?  
You know you can't keep secrets, eight and a half lives and all the time you just wanted to scream it out, to tell them all, just do it, just tell them.  
Yes. _Tantomile thought to her. _We should.  
_Jelly blinked, startled, before rolling her eyes.  
_That's rude, reading other cat's private thoughts._She thought rudely. Tanto ignored it.  
_So? Yes or no?  
_Jelly sighed, giving in. For the first time in all of her lives, she was giving in to Tantomile.  
"Yes, Tanto. It's been too long. They should know. They have a right to."  
Tantomile grinned.

* * *

One lengthy explanation later, the Jellicle tribe was still sceptical of its oldest members.  
"So, you're saying that we're not normal cats?" Etcetera asked, looking more lost than usual.  
"You're trying to tell us that humans created us by accident? How stupid do you think we are?" Cassandra scoffed.  
Jelly shot an I-told-you-so look at Tanto. She knew that something t[like this would happen. As she glanced across, however, Tantomile was smiling, as if she had a plan to prove that they were telling the truth.  
"What if we showed you normal humans and normal cats? What if we actually went outside the Junkyard?"  
"That's impossible. The humans never let us." Tugger said, frowning.

"I doubt that they could say no to a magical cat..." Tantomile grinned again, making a blue spark flash across her paw. Yes, she had a plan alright, but it didn't stop at proving their innocence to the Jellicles. Tantomile wanted revenge on the humans, for experimenting on and imprisoning them. She wanted them to have a taste of their own medicine.

And she knew exactly how she would go about it.

* * *

**Author's Note- **So there's Chapter One. If you have any comments, criticism, or thoughts for me, click the Review button. Remember, feedback gets cookies! =D (See disclaimer =))  
Chapter Two will actually document the Takeover and its effects. See you when I post it!


	2. Cats In Control

Chapter Two – Cats In Control

The Jellicles were free.

It was surprisingly easy, escaping their captors. Humans were so weak, and it did help that the average Jellicle was six feet tall. Okay, maybe the guns were a slight advantage for the humans, but who needs guns when you have claws?

The group had even found a place to live, temporarily. They were staying in a large warehouse that had been abandoned by humans in the 1970s. It wasn't as nice as the old Junkyard, but Tantomile said she had plans for them and that before long they would be living in human houses.

In fact, Tantomile had almost become a new leader of the Jellicles. She had come out of her shell a lot since the escape, preferring to spend less time with Coricopat and more time with Munkustrap and his brothers, discussing plots and planning revolution.

Jellylorum sometimes joined these discussions, as the oldest Jellicle in the Tribe, but she mostly preferred to watch from afar. She didn't have the same leadership skills as Tanto, and felt that she was more suited to a background role. That was fine, though. She didn't want to be a leader. Jelly liked staying in the background, stopping the kits from wandering off and being seen and chatting to Jenny. And, of course, she trusted her friend to pass on how she felt. Although she didn't know what Tanto's plans actually were, she knew they would be good. Bast, Tanto had probably been dreaming them up for seventy years!

Whatever happened, Jelly was happy where she was. She trusted Tantomile, and she knew that, somehow, they would pull through this confusion.

Coricopat wasn't so sure. The tom had been feeling more alone than ever after the breakout. His only friend was his sister, but day after day she was acting like she didn't know him, exchanging only brief greetings and the occasional smile as they passed each other. Tantomile didn't even talk to him psychically any more.

He felt like he no longer knew her. They were twins, they had shared everything. But when every day brought a new revelation about his sister's past lives, he was more left out than ever.

She had kept up her regular vanishing act as well, although this time it wasn't sneaking off to see Jellylorum. Every other night for the week or so they had been there, she had been going off with some combination of Munkustrap, Alonzo, Mistoffelees, Admetus or Plato.

He knew it wasn't romantic. Tantomile had never had the time for that. But still, he felt edgy. What made him mad was that she was refusing to include him in whatever she was doing. She was even blocking her thoughts so he didn't find out.

He would spend all of his time alone, for that was all he could do now, and all of the other Jellicles were leaving him alone. He hadn't talked to anyone for days. So imagine his surprise when he heard a voice echo across the empty room.

_Cori? _He turned, confused, but he was still alone. Then he realised – the voice was inside his head. And it belonged to Tantomile.  
_Tanto? _He asked foolishly, already knowing the answer. _What do you want? _  
Because, of course, his sister wanted something. She wasn't exactly going to call him just to talk, especially after her ignoring him for so long.  
_Help. _She answered simply. Her inner voice sounded strange, guarded. It was almost as if she was trying to hide something from him.

Bast, that cat was always trying to hide something from him, and he was sick of it.

_So? Why can't you just ask Munkustrap or Alonzo or some of your new tom-friends? You sneak out with them often enough. _It was an accusation, not a question.  
_I know, and I'm sorry. I guess I got caught up in all the plans and stuff, I forgot about you. _Now her voice was apologetic and shy, almost as if she was genuinely sorry. Coricopat sighed internally. He knew he'd give in to her in the end. He always did.  
_Fine, I'll help you with whatever it is. Where are you, anyway?  
Near the doors. Meet me outside in a minute, yeah? _Her answer was quick and excited. Cori laughed out loud. She sounded just like her old self.  
_Yeah, I guess._ He answered happily, making his way to the exit.

Tanto was on the other side of the building, which probably accounted for his growing headache. Magic tired you out normally, but long-distance magic was the worst. Mind you, Tantomile didn't look too bad when he reached her. In fact, she was practically bouncing up and down with anticipation when he reached her. This was all internal, however, for when she saw him she just smiled and gestured to one of the many alleys surrounding our building.  
"Come on." she said. "We have a date with the humans."  
Ignoring his questioning glance, she walked off, forcing him to follow her. He didn't have a clue where they were going. He just walked, amazed that his sister could even remember the way.

They carried on through a twisting labyrinth of backstreets, until Tantomile stopped abruptly.  
"Oh yeah. I forgot." she said, blushing slightly. Cori shot her a puzzled look, which she ignored again.  
"We have to look like humans, so they don't know about us." Coricopat's jaw dropped.  
"Look like humans?" he yelled. "How in Bast's name are we meant to do that?"  
"Shush!" Tanto replied. "It's easy, Cori, or are you just forgetting that we're mystics? All you have to do is concentrate on looking human and draw on your power. I don't know how it works, but you end up looking human. Watch."  
Tantomile closed her eyes, and Cori saw that she was concentrating hard. Her Jellicle form appeared to ripple, and a human queen appeared, standing in the place of his sister.  
"Try it." she grinned.  
Sighing, he complied. He closed his eyes and felt the magic inside him rise up, until it was seeping out of his skin. He concentrated, channelling the magic into looking more human. Cautiously, he opened his eyes.

He looked human.

Tantomile grinned at him.  
"That's it! Now we can go."  
"Go where?" he asked, wondering if he'd get an answer now she was in a good mood.  
"Go to meet a powerful human." she answered evasively, but he didn't have time to ask anything else, for that was when they stepped out on to a human street.

Coricopat was amazed. He'd never seen so many humans gathered in one place before. They were everywhere, buying things, arguing with each other, talking into small boxes that they held up to their ears, bustling around and being...well, being human.

It was all new to him, and he just wanted to stand and stare, but Tantomile sighed and pulled him along the street.  
"Come on. We'll be late." she muttered, dragging him by the paw. (Or was it the hand now?) As they passed the shops, Cori couldn't help but stare in the windows at all of the things found within. One of these things was a large box with pictures on it, but the pictures moved and talked. He read from the sign that it was called a 'television'. On the screen, a solemn looking human was talking from behind a desk. His heart stopped as her caught the word 'Jellicle' on the screen. Ignoring Tanto's protests, he drew closer, wanting to hear what the humans were saying about them.

"_And now, the latest headlines. Reports are coming in of a small terror organisation known only as the Jellicles. The group appears to be masquerading as cats using realistic prosthetics, wigs, and small concealed blades that act as claws. Rumours that the group are not dressed up and are actual mutant cats are unfounded.  
The Jellicles have caused a string of seemingly random attacks on various citizens of London. The only possible connection between them is that the victims all worked in scientific research laboratories. One piece of evidence names the group and links them to the attacks, a scratched message left at the scene of each crime, saying simply _'Revenge of the Jellicles.'  
_Fortunately, there have been no fatalities, but several of the victims were seriously hurt and wounded. Police are studying CCTV footage to determine the identities of the group."_

Coricopat gaped. Tantomile bit her lip, looking wary and very, very guilty.  
"Was that you, Tanto?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "Is that why you've been sneaking out with the others? To do _this_?"  
She nodded. Cori felt sick. How could she do something like this? How could she attack innocent humans without even thinking of the consequences?  
"Tanto, why?" he asked, astounded.  
"You don't know." she muttered, head bowed. "You don't get what the humans did to us, to me."  
"So tell me. Tell me, or I'm not going to help you." Cori's voice was solemn, but caring. He wanted to know why his sister hated humans so much, wanted to know why she'd been acting so strangely.

As a reply, Tantomile showed him her memories. As psychics, they could do that – let the others look into their heads and see what they thought, what they felt, what they remembered.  
He saw her as a kitten, being taken away from her family to be put in a cage, separated from the rest of the world.  
He saw her alone, scared and abandoned, with needles poking out from underneath her fur.  
He saw her with the scientists, drained and exhausted from being forced to perform her magic all day.

Cori looked up. His sister was shaking, trying to repress a sob. That was when he realised where his loyalties lay, when he knew he'd stick by her until the end of time.  
"Okay, Tanto. I'll help you."

* * *

In the centre of London, a man was addressing a crowd of humans. He was very important, in fact he was the Prime Minister.  
The man talked of change and of Jellicles, promising he would find these would-be murderers and flush them out. The crowd lapped up his every word, for, secretly, each one of them were scared of the gang, and each one hoped that the man would be true to his word.

In the centre of the crowd, a man and a woman stood, watching the leader speak. As if reacting to a silent cue, the pair walked forward in perfect sync, pushing through the people with ease until they reached the front.

Without a moment's hesitation, the pair began to climb up onto the stage, standing in front of the leader. He was confused for a second, but his confusion soon turned to fear as the two intruders dropped their human form, revealing themselves as large beasts that bore a strange resemblance to cats.

Suddenly, realisation hit. They were Jellicles. And they were real cat-humans.

The leader was afraid, but he still managed to speak.  
"Who...who are you?" he stuttered, eyes wide with dread.  
The female cat stepped forwards, raising a claw to the leader's throat. Without a single hesitation, she drew it across his neck, killing him with a single claw. She raised the microphone to her mouth, a small smile playing on her lips.  
"My name is Tantomile. I'm a Jellicle. And I'm in charge now."

* * *

**Author's Note- **You would not believe how long this took to plan. Assasinating the PM is no laughing matter, you know!  
Anyway, that was Chapter Two. Feedback is great, constructive critiscism is rewarded with chocolate cake. Chapter Three's coming soon, folks!

**Disclaimer-** If I ever did own the Cats, I wouldn't do this to them. Promise. But this is pointless, 'cos I don't.


	3. Cast Away

Chapter Three – Cast Away

It had been six months since Tantomile killed the Prime Minister, but already things were starting to change. There were fewer humans around, for one. Sure, at the start they had tried to fight, but human armies were no match for Mistoffelees' magic. After he had vanished his fourth army, they got the point and gave up, submitting to the Jellicles. On the one-month anniversary of the Takeover, the most powerful humans told all of the others to stand down, that they had lost. There was much rejoicing amongst the Jellicles that day.

The Jellicles had been all over the country. There were many others hidden away in various 'research facilities', all oblivious to the fact that they were prisoners.

Of course, when Munkustrap came to call, they were all grateful to get out of there.

These new additions to the Tribe were very useful, for Jellicles had a natural advantage over humans, and they could help restrain them. As the Jellicle's numbers swelled, the oversized felines became more powerful and had more influence over the humans – specifically, they could control them more easily.

Tantomile was in charge, along with Old Deuteronomy. Although he was the Leader, she was the one that had achieved this, that had led them to freedom. Of course she should have a position of power in this new world! And it _was _a new world. Between them, they helped the Jellicle race more than they had ever imagined was possible. For one, humans were now inferior. They weren't even allowed to live in their houses any more; such was Tantomile's power over them. Yes, the Jellicles were the dominant race, and the humans learned to stay away – or else.

That night was the six-month Takeover anniversary. Most of the Tribe was having a celebration, gathering together in their various cities and dancing to the Jellicle Moon, just like old times. The humans had been warned that trying to go near the Ball meant death, although some of the more adventurous swore that they were going to try anyway. (These were usually the fans of the infamous musical about the Jellicles.)

Rumpleteazer was staring out of the window in her mother's house, feeling somewhat dejected. She didn't think that this new life suited her. It wasn't that she hated being in power, quite the opposite in fact, but something inside her longed for simpler times. After all, it was no fun breaking into an empty house, or stealing jewels that nobody owned. No, Teaze was not the kind to get complacent or sit around all day doing nothing. She wanted a more...dangerous lifestyle, like the one she had led back at the Junkyard, but nobody could offer her that now.

With a sigh, she turned around, heading back to her family. There was no use moping over that now. Now was a time to be happy. It was a Ball, for Bast's sake!  
_And anyway, _she thought with a grin, _If I _really _wanna nick stuff, I can always take it from the other cats!_

* * *

One hour later, Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer, Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks were gathered around a table, eating a variety of human scraps (Jenny said it was part of a shepherd's pie and bits of steak) out of cat food bowls. To any on looking human, this would have seemed quite bizarre, a group of cats gathered around the table with their faces in their food. But for a cat, this is indeed the natural thing to do.

Halfway through their meal, if you could call it that, there was a knock at the door. Surprised, Jenny got up opened it. Outside there was a small human kitten around seven years old. She was pale and dangerously thin – obviously very hungry.

"Please, miss cat person, can I have some food?" she asked in an oddly high-pitched voice, evidently scared of Jenny. Teaze couldn't see why. Her mother wasn't particularly fear-inducing, but the little human was trembling like she was face to face with Macavity himself.

Jenny hissed at her. "Shoo." she growled. "Go on, scram. We don't want your sort around here."

Wide eyed, the human turned and ran back down the alley, whimpering with fear. Teaze stared after her open-mouthed. Were humans really that scared of them? She hadn't really paid much attention to them, to be honest – they hadn't seemed that important – but now she was interested. Chasing the kit away did seem cruel, but all of the others said it was for their own good.

In short, Rumpleteazer was confused. The only problem was, she couldn't really talk about it to anyone. At the least, they would laugh at her. At worst...well, she still had that to find out.

She went back to staring out of the window, deep in thought. She had never really needed to think about anything this serious in the past. But now there were all of these problems. She didn't like it. She just wanted everything to be normal again, but at the same time she knew that would never happen.

"Wha's up, Teaze?" came a voice from behind her. Spinning around, she saw her brother Mungojerrie smiling at her. She wondered whether or not to answer. After all, what she was thinking could get her into trouble, but when had she been scared of a little bit of danger?

"It's jus' not fair, Jerrie!" she blurted out. Her brother looked confused.

"No' fair? Wha's not fair?"

"All this! Mam, jus' then, not 'elping tha' little kitten. It's as if she doesn't remember when tha' was us, when we were the strays. Like the day we all 'ad to sleep out in an alley when our den blew down, or that time when we were kits an' we all went 'ungry 'cos Mam wouldn't let us steal food from the 'umans."

"Yeah, bu' tha' wasn't our fault, was it?" Jerrie sounded bored, as if he was just casually dismissing the problem. Teaze felt anger surge up inside her.

"Bu' this is our fault! Most of them ain't done nothin' to us, bu' we're still doin' this to them!" Jerrie nodded, but she could tell he really didn't care. He was just glad that they were inside in the warm, rather than out on the streets like humans.

"I mean it, Jerrie!" she yelled, oblivious to the fact that Mungojerrie was staring over her shoulder, looking scared. "An' you know wha'? I'm gonna go out there an' help tha' kit. I'm gonna –"

"Very interesting, Rumpleteazer." a cold voice interrupted her. Slowly, she turned to see her mother and father glaring at her.

"I thought you of all felines would have the sense to stay out of the human's way. Obviously not. Well, I think I shall have to report this to Tantomile – you know she said that we should tell her about all of the _traitors _amongst us." Jenny spat, cold fury warping her face into a mask of anger. "Now get out of my house before I throw you out."

Teaze just stared at her, aghast. Of course Jenny would have something against humans, her and Jellylorum had been going away for long chats ever since the Takeover. She didn't know exactly what they talked about, but each time Jenny had come back more filled with fury towards the humans than before. She was one of the first to accept what Tantomile had done, and had convinced most of the others that it was a good thing.

"Bu' Mam! You can't jus' chuck me ou'!" she heard herself say, blindly registering the words but not recognising them.

"I mean it. _Go._" Jenny growled. Teaze just looked at her, hurt, before fleeing through the open door.

* * *

Cold.

Outside, Rumpleteazer trudged through the snow, unsure of what she was doing or where she was going. She couldn't believe that she had just been thrown out of her home, her Tribe. For indeed, when Tantomile heard what she had said she would be out of the Tribe for good. She could never go back, not now.

But what would she do?

She didn't know.

Truth be told, she had already tried contacting her friends. Back in the Junkyard, she had known most of the kittens quite well, and she had attempted to talk to Etcetera, who she had just bumped in to on the street. However, the kitten had made a dodgy excuse and hurried off. She guessed Etcetera had already been told about her exile by one of the others.

Exile. The term hadn't really had time to sink in. She was an exile, just like Macavity. Just like a common criminal.

With a whimper, she curled up in the snow. Sleep took over her, and within a few minute she was snoring softly, oblivious to everything around her.

Including the shadowy figure that was sneaking up to her from behind. In fact, she didn't even stir as the figure gathered her up in his arms and took her away.

She was not only an exile. She was soon to be a prisoner.

* * *

**Author's Note - **Heh. So, I haven't shown my face around the internet for two months now. Not my fault - Real Life kinda got in the way. But I'm back now, and I promise to update more regularly.  
So, here's Chapter Three. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, drop me a review! If you didn't, drop me a review and say why not! Constructive critiscism is embraced and rewarded with e-cookies.  
See you next time, when we find out just who has kidnapped Rumpleteazer. Bye!

**Disclaimer - **Cats doesn't belong to me. Nothing in this fanfic does, apart from the situation I have thrown the characters into.


	4. The Forgotten

Chapter Four – The Forgotten.

The first thing Rumpleteazer noticed when she woke up was that she was not in the same place she went to sleep. This, she decided, was very odd, especially as she had not previously been known to sleepwalk.

Glancing around, she deduced that she was in a human house, in some sort of a cupboard. It was a bare, wooden room, with nothing inside it but a single bucket, and no way out but a small door. Optimistically, she pushed it, hoping it was open. No such luck. Deciding to sit on the upturned bucket, she wondered where she was.

It wasn't like she had never been somewhere unknown before – that had happened a lot back in her old thieving days. It was just a bit disconcerting to wake up and find yourself a prisoner.

Idly, she wondered if Macavity was on the prowl again, but quickly dismissed the thought. It just wasn't his style, after all. If it was him, he'd have started gloating by now, the egotistical idiot. And she couldn't think of anyone who hated her enough to catnap her. Well, apart from her mother, apparently. But that just wouldn't make any sense, and Teaze didn't want to spend too long dwelling on her mother's actions. Too much raw heartache there. She wasn't one for wasting time thinking about her feelings. She was a cat of action.

Which got her back to the point she was trying to make – who had done this? Who would go to the trouble of catnapping _her, _of all felines? She was hardly the most dangerous, that would be one of the magic cats. She wasn't the most well known, either, or the most influential. There was no _reason, _no _motive_.

She shook her head, to clear it of her thoughts. It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense. _Especially not the talking to yourself thing, _she thought wryly. _First sign of madness, isn't it?_

Slowly, she came to notice the voices behind the door, seemingly arguing. Curious as usual, she pressed an ear to it, hoping what she heard wouldn't involve the words 'kill the giant cat-thing'. That would just make her day _even better_.

Ironically, she couldn't hear anything for about a minute – not for lack of trying, just for lack of anything to actually hear. It seemed as if the argument had stopped. She sat on the bucket, most likely looking like a complete idiot, for what seemed like an age before she heard anything. It was a sigh, and it sounded like it came from someone who was extremely annoyed.

"Faith, we can't keep it here! We're struggling for food as it is, we can't possibly house another person, let alone...that." It was a low, gruff voice that appeared to come from a tom.

"Why not, Grant? It was in trouble, so are we. It's obviously not one of the ones in control. It wouldn't be lying in the snow if it was. It could have frozen to death!" Another voice, this one definitely female. She was calm, trying to be reasonable with the tom, but he didn't appear to care. _Wait, left in the snow? _she thought with a jolt. _That's me. They're talking about me.  
_"Oh, Bast." she muttered. Then, as an afterthought, "It? Tha's offensive. I'm no' an it!"

She pressed her ear to the door again, wondering what her mysterious enemies were going to do with her. And clearing up who they were would be a good idea as well.

"It'd be better off dead, Faith! It's probably some sort of a spy for their leader. I say we just slit its throat and have done." The tom was getting really angry (was he called Grant? That was what the queen had said.) and Teaze was starting to fear for her life even more than she had earlier. Basically, she knew when she was in the Pollicle mess, and she was in it _deep_.

"Why don't we just ask it what it wants? It's not as if we can't deal with it after if it _does _want to kill us all, which by the way I very much doubt."

"Fine. Just don't blame me if you get permanent scarring." Grant muttered angrily, and Teaze sighed with relief. She wasn't going to get killed! That was always a bonus in her line of work.

"Josh! Go fetch the Jellicle for us, will you love?" The queen – Faith – yelled. There were footsteps, and Rumpleteazer stepped back from the door automatically. She didn't want them to know she's been spying, after all.

Sure enough, a minute later, the lock clicked. She gulped as the door swung open, revealing for the first time her captor.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a well known house where many a powerful human had lived, Tantomile was doing magic once again, reaching out with her mind along the empty streets, the quiet houses, the abandoned city that was London. She expanded her mind, feeling out further down the roads. At this strength, she could make out individuals, recognising Jemima and Victoria returning from Mistoffelees' den, a cat from the Manchester Tribes named Castor who was out hunting, a group of humans huddled in a doorway – but there was no sign of the cat she was looking for.

"You okay, Tanto?" said a voice behind her, and she whipped around, startled. Fortunately, it was only Jellylorum with a saucer of milk in her left paw.

"Oh, Jells, it's you." she breathed, one paw over her heart in relief. "Don't do that to me!"

"Sorry." her friend smiled, collapsing onto a sofa with a satisfied sigh. The sofa was white, as was everything in the room, and it looked odd against Jelly's yellow and orange fur. "What were you doing, anyway?"

"Looking for someone. You know, with magic." Tanto said evasively. She didn't like talking about magic to non-magicians.

"Rumpleteazer." Jelly raised an eyebrow. It wasn't a question.

"How do you know about that?"

"Tanto, I'm Jenny's friend too. She tells me everything. Do you think she'd just forget about expelling her rebellious daughter?"

"Ah." There was an awkward pause. Tanto was itching to interrogate Jelly, to find out exactly how much she knew, but she didn't think it was right. But she had to control information, and if anyone else knew, there'd be unrest among the Jellicles. As co-Leader, she felt she _had _to know if anyone else had heard what happened. After a pause, she asked Jelly what she knew, only slightly hesitantly. Her reply was quite odd.

"Do you ever switch off, Tantomile?"

"What?" Tanto was confused. She only asked to make sure nobody else had heard. It was for the good of the community. What was wrong with that?

"You need a rest, old friend." Jelly said, that all-knowing smile creeping across her face once again.

"Jells, I-" She had slept yesterday, after all. Or was it the day before? She wasn't so sure.

"No excuses. There's no harm in getting some sleep, Tanto, and Heaviside knows you need it! After all, it's not like there's going to be a major crisis in the next few hours, is there?" Jelly had risen to her feet, apparently intent on ferrying Tantomile out of the door if she would not go on her own. Wearily, she stood up.

"Yes, Mum." she muttered sarcastically, before grinning. There was no way she could stay mad at Jelly, who was currently laughing her furry head off.

"Well, if you act like a kitten, I shall treat you like one! Bed. Now."

A look passed between them then, a weary look, yes, but a satisfied one. It said that they had got what they wanted, that they were happy where they were, secure even. Nothing could happen to them now. They were invincible.

But the moment passed, and Tantomile slunk upstairs. There would be time to discuss that in the morning, and Jelly was right. She needed sleep.

"Night, Jells."

"...Night, Tanto."

* * *

Rumpleteazer blinked. Standing in front of her was a human tom, no more than a kitten. She guessed he was around Mistoffelees' age. Actually, he reminded her a bit of Misto, as he had dark hair and a sullen expression.

"Well, tha's a bi' of an anticlimax." she muttered, following him out into what looked like a meeting room. It was dirty, but tidy, with a semicircle of chairs around an old-fashioned fireplace, each filled with a human. She was lead out to the centre of this semicircle, where a grey haired human tom stood. At a guess, she'd say he was Grant. The man turned to her, speaking slowly and clearly.

"Do...you...un-der-stand...me?" he asked, and Teaze rolled her eyes. _Great, a moron, _she thought, mentally preparing a sarcastic response.

"Yeah, bu' if ya keep talkin' to me like tha', I may be forced to claw ou' your tongue." Looking at the reactions of the other humans, she judged that this was not the right response. Most of them looked shocked, or just plain mad at her. _Oops, _she thought. The man – Grant? – looked a little surprised, but he carried on nonetheless.

"What were you doing outside this house?"

"Sleepin'." Teaze decided to keep her answers brief. "Go' nowhere else to go, 'ave I?"

"Why?" This was the second voice she had heard from the cupboard, and she turned to see a short, dark human queen looking curiously at her. Shrugging, she told them about how she had come to be there, as briefly and concisely as possible. After she had finished, there was a long pause.

"Faith, come with me. I need to talk to you." Grant ordered, and the pair of them left the room. Teaze was anxious. Were they going to kill her after all? Oh, Bast, say that won't happen. There was so much she wanted to say to her brother, if she could find him. She wanted to live! She was relatively young, at least, she was compared to her peers. There was no way she deserved this! It wasn't fair, it really wasn't.

The door creaked open again. Grant and Faith entered the room, both looking stony-faced.

"We have reached a decision." Grant said emotionlessly. Teazer gulped.

"I have been _persuaded,_" he glared at Faith. "To let this...thing stay here, on the condition that it-"

"She." Faith interrupted. Teazer smothered a grin.

"That _it _use its Jellicle nature to find us food and help us humans."

"What do you say, Rumpleteazer?" Faith asked kindly. Teaze liked her, she reminded her of Jenny. She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, it sure beats sleepin' in the snow..." she said. "So, I guess I'm in."

* * *

**Author's Note-** So, it's been a while. Again. Sorry about that, I've been busy, busy, busy then I spent the last week in the Oblivion of No Internet (Scotland). But it's SUMMER now, so I may even put the next bit up within the next fortnight. Maybe.  
Bet none of you guessed it was the humans! Well, one of you did in a review. Your prize is...er...a banana. Yes! Go get a banana and pretend it's from me.  
Anyway, all the usual, reviews are good, constructive critiscism wins cookies and I'll see you next update!

**Disclaimer- **I only own the situation and the humans. (And Castor) Yeesh, do I _look _like TSE, ALW or RUG?


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